Microsoft fixes double zero-day security flaw in Windows 7

Microsoft fixed a security flaw that hit Windows 7 and was discovered together with ESET. The great thing is that according to the tech giant, there haven’t been any attacks thanks to the fast discovery and fix of the problem.

ESET helps Microsoft to fix Windows 7 security vulnerability

Matt Oh, Windows Defender ATP Research released a technical analysis of the vulnerability and pointed out that Microsoft teamed up with ESET and Adobe to fix two different zero-day exploits in a PDF which was believed to pack an unknown Windows kernel flaw.

Although the PDF sample was found in VirusTotal, we have not observed actual attacks perpetrated using these exploits. The exploit was in early development stage, given the fact that the PDF itself did not deliver a malicious payload and appeared to be proof-of-concept (PoC) code.

The notes also say that finding this vulnerability before an attacker got a chance to use it was a great effort of the collaboration between Microsoft and ESET.

The analysis details that one exploit affected Adobe Acrobat Reader and the other one hit Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. The first flaw targeted Adobe JavaScript engine, and the other was aiming at Windows.

Update your OS now

The same recommendation that Microsoft has been offering users is also appropriate now: update your older operating system in order to benefit from the latest security updates and always remain protected.

If you have to delay upgrading your OS, it’s recommended that IT admins disable JavaScript in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader until the updates are eventually installed. They are also advised to double-check their PDFs for malware just to make sure that no exploits are targeting the network systems. You can read the complete details on the exploit on Microsoft’s support page.